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Sunday, August 06, 2006

August is the month of this baker's birthday; and more importantly, the birthday of Singapore! Through the connection of my significant half, I got to know a few Singaporeans who have now turned into great friends during my short stay in St Louis. Since 9 Aug falls on Wednesday, they decided to hold the National Day party on an earlier date, i.e Saturday; for the convenience of everyone.

The Stawberry Country Cake was the same one I made last week. I made this because red and white are the colour of Singapore Flag.

The varieties and quantities of the food could beat the buffets here in St Louis. Ok, maybe I exaggerated a bit. But there really isn't any place that serves authentic Singapore food here. And all of the dishes are tasty! Being the inquisitive baker, I took the opportunity to ask the rest for their recipes (roughly).

For instant, the juicy and tender beef stew from the host BP. She told me the secret was her pressure cooker and the LONGER cooking time;"I use the pressure cooker, and cook longer than usual. " Said BP"Oh, how long did you cook?" I asked"Usually, I cook for 15- 20 minutes. Today, it's 30 minutes""......"That's merely a quarter of the time I used with my dutch oven, to achieve the same kind of tenderness.

Next, I asked SK, who brought the lasagna. Honestly, his version is really the best I have ever tasted. Better than the Pizza Hut's, which I once liked. This was his reply:" I followed the recipe from the Barilla's box, and substituted ground turkey for the ground beef, and added extra red bell peppers""Really? That's it?" I asked in a bit of bewilderment. I have made lasagna twice. First time was inedible, second time was merely mediocre. Yet,he made making lasagna sounds so effortless."Yeah, just follow the instruction from the box" answered the talented SK. ( I wish I could introduce him to my friend ST since both of them are singles. And a guy who can cook so well is hard to come by)

Last but not least, I asked M, who was also the photographer of the night, for the recipe of his Singapore economy rice style potato and lucheon meat. According to him, it's a recipe from his grandmother. I was impressed, and secretly wished that my grandma had left me any recipe at all.. Anyway, he told me that the sauce was a mixture of tomato sauce, fish sauce and sugar. Brilliant! I never thought of adding fish sauce to the tomato sauce before.

I have once again seized the opportunity to learn and had a great time yesterday!

To the rest of the Singaporeans who read this blog : "Happy National Day"!